Side bearing assembly for railroad trucks



June 14, 1966 F. D. BARBER SIDE BEARING ASSEMBLY FOR RAILROAD TRUCKS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 16, 1964 June 14, 1966 F. D. BARBER 3,255,712

SIDE BEARING ASSEMBLY FOR RAILROAD TRUCKS Filed Jan. 16, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mg; (i f [E] I NVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,255,712 SIDE BEARING ASSEMBLY FOR RAILROAD TRUCKS Franklin D. Barber, Chicago, 11]., assignor to Standard filler Truck Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Filed Jan. 16, 1964, Ser. No. 338,183 3 Claims. (Cl. 105199) This invention relates to improvements in auxiliary side bearings for railroad cars and has for one object to provide a yielding auxiliary side bearing which frictionally resists but does not positively prevent relative turning movement of car trunk and car body.

Another object is to provide yielding means which cushion and yielding resist rocking of the car With respect to the bolster and truck. It must be emphasized in this connection that the auxiliary side bearing is intended to be used in combination with any of the well known types of side bearings and it does not displace any of them.

This invention is applied to a conventional railroad car truck, the details of which in the interest of reduction of time and space are omitted, being adequately illustrated in FIGURES 1 and 2 of co-pending application Serial No. 291,479, filed June 28, 1963.

Other objects will appear from time to time throughout the specification and claims.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a plan view of a part of a railroad car truck with parts omitted;

FIGURE 2 is a transverse section through a part of a railroad car truck side frame showing associated parts in elevation;

FIGURE 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of FIG- URE 2.

Like parts are indicated by like characters throughout the specification and drawings.

A railroad car truck bolster has a center plate 11 interlocking with a center plate 12 on a body bolster 13. The bolster 10 is associated with and forms a part of a truck having a side frame 14.

Extending upwardly from the truck bolster 10 is a side bearing roller pocket 15 containing a side bearing roller 16 in opposition to a pad 17 on the body bolster 13. The above elements are all conventional and need no further explanation.

Riveted to the upper wall of the truck bolster 10 is a rigid bracket 18 extending laterally on both sides beyond the bolster and located between the side frame 14 and the roller pocket 15. Extending upwardly from one end of the bracket 18 is a bifurcated spring support 19 which carries a spring pin 20 on which is rotatably mounted one end of the leaf spring 21. The other end of the leaf spring adjacent the other end of the bracket 18 is supported by a U-shaped spring hanger 22 in rotatable relationship both with the spring 21 and the bracket 18 by pins 23 and 24. The leaf spring thus extends parallel to and above the bracket 18 and transversely of the bolster. At the center of the leaf spring is a spring band 25 secured as usual to the main leaf of the spring. A forked friction block holder or saddle 26 straddles the spring and encloses the spring band 25. Its upper flat face carries a friction shoe 27 in contact with a friction Cil 3,255,712 Patented June 14, 1966 ice plate 28 depending downwardly from the body bolster 13.

When the car is upright on the truck, there is a clearance between the roller 16 of the side bearing and the pad 17, the car being balanced on the center plates. Rocking of the car with respect to the bolster and truck is, as is usual, limited by contact of the roller side hearing and its opposed pad.

The tension of the leaf spring 21 is such that when the car is upright, a very substantial pressure is brought to bear between the shoe 27 and the plate 28. When the car rocks with respect to the truck, that pressure increases on the down side and decreases on the up side but always there is a substantial pressure remaining between the two friction surfaces on each side of the car.

When the truck tends to pivot with respect to the car, lateral movement results between the friction surfaces and that movement is resisted by the friction between them resulting from the spring pressure. This tends to resist angular displacement of truck with respect to car about the vertical pivotal axi and to resist shimmying of the truck with respect to the car.

The auxiliary side bearing thus serves a dual purpose. It tends to frictionally resist but never to prevent pivoting of the car truck with respect to the body. Pivoting is essential to enable the truck to follow the track. Excessive pivoting is highly undesirable as that may result in derailing. More than that there is always a tendency espeically at high speeds, for the truck to develop high frequency rotary vibration about the pivot axis of truck and car. This is called shimmying and especially at high speeds may be very dangerous. Since it is impossible to lock the truck against pivoting this frictional arrangement tends to minimize shimmying and from that point of view is important. Equally important, is the fact that the spring pressure on both sides of the car tends to urge the car to remain in vertical position. Tilting increases the pressure on the spring on the down side and is resisted by the spring. This thus stabilizes car movement and promotes smoother car riding.

It will be understood, of course, that there is a car truck at each end of the car and each car has its own bolster and that what has here been illustrated with respect to one truck and one side of the car is duplicated in four separate instances on the car. The function of the springs and wear plates is the same in each case.

I claim:

1. In a railroad car and truck combination including opposed car and truck bolsters, center plates between them, anti-friction side bearings including opposed elements on both bolster located on either side of the center plate so disposed that when the car is balanced on the centre plate there is clearance on both sides of the car between the opposed side bearing elements on the bolsters, a spring bracket extending across one of the bolsters adjacent each side bearing, a leaf spring supported at both ends on the bracket, a friction shoe carried by the central portion of the leaf spring, a friction member carried by the opposite bolster, the spring biasing the shoe against the friction member at all times independent of the rocking of the car on the center plates.

3 4 2. The device of claim 1 characterized by the fact 1,094,708 4/1914 Fant l05200 that the spring is completely unsupported except at its 1,102,108 6/1914 Vauclain 105.200 ends under all conditions of car movement. 1,225,882 5/1917 st lfen 105199 X 3. The device of claim 1 characterized by the fact that 7 7 5 6/1929 Miller 1 5 .199 X the leaf spring carries a yoke adjacent the center thereof 5 1,738,130 1/1931 Symington 3 enclosed by the friction shoe and the spring supports 1,814,232 7/1931 Sturrock X are so high above the bracket that the yoke is entirely 1821296 9/1931 Drenning 105 200 X out of contact with the bracket under all conditions of 1993104 3/1935 Lamont 105 200 sPrmg fiexure- 2,650,549 9/1953 Cain et al 1o5 199 x References Cited by the Examiner l0 FOREIGN PATENTS UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,262,730 4/1961 France.

75,513 3/1868 Baysore 105199 538,858 5/1895 Adams 1O5 199 X 15 ARTHUR L. LA PtDINT, Pumtzry Exammer. 755,460 3/1904 Dalton et a1. 105-200 X H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A RAILROAD CAR AND TRUCK COMBINATION INCLUDING OPPOSED CAR AND TRUCK BOLSTERS, CENTER PLATES BETWEEN THEM, ANTI-FRICTION SIDE BEARINGS INCLUDING OPPOSED ELEMENTS ON BOTH BOLSTERS LOCTED ON EITHER SIDE OF THE CENTER PLATE SO DISPOSED THAT WHEN THE CAR IS BALANCED ON THE CENTRE PLATE THERE IS CLEARANCE ON BOTH SIDES OF THE CAR BETWEEN THE OPPOSED SIDE BEARING ELEMENTS ON THE BOLSTERS, A SPRING BRACKET EXTENDING ACROSS ONE OF THE BOLSTERS ADJACENT EACH SIDE BEARING, A LEAFT SPRING SUPPORTED AT BOTH ENDS ON THE BRACKET, A FRICTION SHOE CARRIED BY THE CENTRAL PORTION OF THE LEAF SPRING, A FRICTION MEMBER CARRIED BY THE OPPOSITE BOLSTER, THE SPRING BIASING THE SHOE AGAINST THE FRICTION MEMBER AT ALL TIMES INDEPENDENT OF THE ROCKING OF THE CAR ON THE CENTER PLATES. 